FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT RYAN NEWMAN - PAGE 5

Ask your average sports fan what they know about racing, and the first think most will say is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There is just something special about that famed yard of bricks. For NASCAR drivers there is no doubt that the Daytona is number one. And even though NASCAR has only been coming to Indy for 18 years, it has quickly become two, and in many drivers eyes, even one "a. " "It ranks up there, possibly number one," said four time Indy winner Jeff Gordon. It makes sense.

And you thought NASCAR didn't have a draft. Oh sure at Daytona and Talladega there is drafting, but restictor plate racing is also as close to a draft as we get in NASCAR. How you might ask? Because speed, horse power, driving have very little to do with who wins at these tracks. No this week at Daytona the track picks who wins. There are from time to time some surprises, just like any draft. And there are comers and goers along the way to picking a winner. Rarely does the guy leading at halfway win, heck most of the time the guy leading at the white flag doesn't win. "The nerve-wracking stuff doesn't start until about 20 (laps)

Okay, let's talk playoffs. There are technically eight drivers still alive to make the NASCAR Chase for the Championship. But unless your name is Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch, you basically have to win and get some help to get in. "We're confident coming into this weekend," said Busch. "We feel like we've always done well here. We have really good notes that we have a good basis for being able to run well here and have a good foundation to start practice with. We'll continue to do some of the same things that we've always done here in the past to make our car what it needs to be for the race on Saturday night.

Politics aside, NASCAR has a problem. Whether it's a big problem or a small problem it up for debate as is whether or not you agree with the National Riffle Association. This is not really about that. The problem is, politics and sports should be separate. NASCAR for the most part is a red state sport, and most NASCAR fans fit into the NRA's demographic. So it's easy to understand why most see little problem with the organization sponsoring a race. But what if it wasn't the NRA? What if it was MoveOn.org or Planned Parenthood?

After a successful two-day Goodyear Tire Test at Michigan International Speedway, some NASCAR drivers say they are happy with the repave. Oh, and the track is fast. They all said that, too. “This place is fast. I mean fast, fast,” NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Juan Pablo Montoya said. “Our minimum speed this morning was over 180 mph through the corner when you think about it. We are doing easily over 210 mph at the end of the straight. “For a car like this, it is really, really quick.

Sometimes I know I date myself with some of my pop culture references, and yet I can help myself. The strange grinning man in the photo is 80's SNL character Ed Grimley and he love the triangle. This week, so do I. For all the complaining NASCAR fans do about cookie cutter tracks, this has go to be one of the best stretches of the year. Dover last week, Pocono this week, Sonoma in two weeks. We are in the middle of a stretch that includes some of the sports most unique tracks. This week's stop, Pocono, is one crazy track.

If you are asking yourself, "weren't we just in Pocono?" The answer is almost. It was just seven races ago that NASCAR visited Pocono, by far the shortest time between visits to the same race track. And according to Joey Logano that makes coming back to Pocano, that much easier. "When the races are closer, your notes relate a lot better than it is coming to a racetrack a whole year later, because a lot of things can be different a year later," said Logano. "Your general set up of a car usually changes a lot throughout a year. Your chassis usually changes and your bodies are different. It's hard to go back on what you have and improve on that. Usually come with a whole different package.